Hundreds of Catholic Nuns in Africa “transformed” Thanks to a U.S. Foundation Partnership

She explained, “It is not that they did not have these enterprises but they were running them as charities. For some it was not important to keep records.”

Other gaps that the baseline study revealed included the “the different styles of leadership that are employed” in running Congregational projects, the lack of appropriate strategies in succession planning, and failures in networking among Catholic Sisters, Ms. Njoroge said.

Also speaking to ACI Africa, SBVP Regional Project Coordinator, Lucy Kuria, said that following the baseline study findings, ways of addressing the identified challenges were formulated, which she said included four pillars: capacity building, conferencing networks, research and incubation, and financial inclusion. 

Under the capacity building pillar, Ms. Kuria explained, “we train the Sisters on different aspects of social entrepreneurship. The thematic areas can be in leadership and management, financial management; it can be in human resources; so, anything that can make a social enterprise sustainable.”

With regard to the pillar of conferencing networks, Catholic Sisters in Congregations that are part of the initiative in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are “together and have one conference,” she told ACI Africa.

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“This conference does not entirely aim at the Sisters; it also looks at other social entrepreneurs and at least these Sisters can be able to network and learn from other people who are in social entrepreneurship,” said Ms. Kuria.

In a separate interview with ACI Africa, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK) acknowledged with appreciation the partnership with CNHF in facilitating networks among Catholic Sisters in the East African nation.

Sr. Pasilisa Namikoye said in reference to 36 Vocational Training Institutions under the auspices of Catholic Nuns in Kenya, “The Conrad Hilton Foundation has helped to strengthen the networking of the Sisters within those institutions. They are able to collaborate on various issues.”

The Catholic Sisters’ partnership with CNHF, the Kenyan member of the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (LSOSF) said during the July 8 interview, “has helped bring the collaboration and networking of the institutions (in) different regions.”

Explaining the research and incubation pillar, the SBVP Regional Project Coordinator said in reference to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, “We also conduct research activities in these countries for different Congregations on different factors that enable a social enterprise to be sustainable.”

Studies are also undertaken to establish “factors that can hinder social enterprise from being a sustainable social enterprise,” she added.

The financial inclusion pillar is about having Catholic Sisters’ ideas “incubated under the incubation center; they go through some different activities that (include) training, advisory, market linkages, seed grant,” Ms. Kuria said about the initiative that has had 61 ideas of Catholic Sisters under the SBVP facilitated by the seed grant.

She went on to say that while hundreds of Catholic Nuns have so far benefited from the SBVP, much more still needs to be done to “empower the Sisters and also to ensure that at least their social enterprises are sustainable.”

Looking forward to the July 12 encounter with the President of CNHF, Peter Laugharn, the SBVP Regional Project Coordinator said the visit will provide an opportunity to see what the Catholic Sisters have achieved, and the gaps that require partnerships to be filled. 

“At least when he hears what difference we have been able to make with these Sisters who have been in the program, maybe he will give us more resources to reach the wider network of Sisters,” Ms. Kuria said.

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She added, “We have so many Sisters in this particular country, and for now awareness has been created about the Sisters Blended Value Project. We have trail blazed because of the impact and so we want to not just have a drop of ink in the ocean; we want to have a huge impact with this.” 

In an earlier note to ACI Africa, CNHF’s Program Officer, Catholic Sisters, Africa, said that Mr. Laugharn’s visit will have him interact with Catholic Sisters involved in initiatives that CNHF facilitates.

“On (July) 12th he will be visiting some of the grants for the Catholic Sisters Initiative,” Sr. Agnes Njeri of the Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ) of Mombasa said in her July 3 note, adding that “dinner with the grantees and partners” has been scheduled at a Nairobi hotel.

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.